In Ricky Martin's new video, the singer rips a gag from his mouth and a parade of gay and straight couples appear, with the "equals" symbol painted on their chests, as he sings about how he can't wipe the smile from his face.

On Monday, nearly a year after ending years of speculation about his sexuality by telling the world he was a "fortunate gay man", the 39-year-old will release his first album as an openly homosexual pop star.

It is a big step for Martin, who became one of the world's biggest selling artists on a diet of machismo, teenage female fans and songs like She Bangs.

The music industry is watching to see whether he can maintain his popularity. "Everything is coming from another place," said Martin of the album's inspiration. "It's like a whole new set of rules."

This is an interesting time for homosexuality in pop music. Lady Gaga, the biggest selling female pop act of the past few years, followed up months of support for gay rights with the song Born This Way, in which she sings: "No matter gay, straight, or bi, lesbian, transgendered life, I'm on the right track baby."

Last year, she walked the red carpet at MTV awards with a group of discharged gay soldiers to protest at the US military's policy of don't ask, don't tell.

Katy Perry and Ke$ha have also released songs which purport to show support for gay rights. Perry shot to fame in 2008 with the song I Kissed a Girl and also had a hit with Ur So Gay, in which the word "gay" is used as a taunt.

But her most recent hit, Firework, preaches the message that there is nothing wrong with being different, and was accompanied by a video showing two boys kissing.

Martin came out in an emotional message posted on his website in March of last year, in which he said: "The word 'happiness' takes on a new meaning for me as of today. It has been a very intense process."

The message also made reference to his new found role as a father to twin boys, born to an unnamed surrogate mother in 2008.

"His decision to come out was not just made possible by his decision to become a father," says broadcaster Paul Gambaccini, "but it was made necessary by it, as it immediately restarted the conversation about his sexuality."

Martin began his career in his early teens, as a member of boyband Menudo in his native Puerto Rico.

"Like many pop stars who begin early in life, he probably discovered his sexuality at a time when he was also hugely famous and popular with teenage girls," says Gambaccini.

"Also, like George Michael, who is of Greek extraction, he culturally comes from a country where men are expected to be macho. "Therefore coming out wouldn't have felt like a possibility."

As attitudes have changed, pop stars are tending to come out earlier in their careers, including Will Young and X Factor winner Joe McElderry.

Like Martin, Boy George famously deflected speculation about his private life during Culture Club's heyday, by claiming he would rather have "a nice cup of tea" than sex.

Elton John, who had described himself as bisexual, only fully came out in the early 1980s following his divorce from wife Renate Blauel, while George Michael was forced to reveal his sexuality in 1998 after being caught in a "lewd act" with an undercover police officer in a Los Angeles public toilet.

He famously turned crisis to opportunity with the release of Outside, a single which poked fun at his arrest.

But even openly gay pop singers rarely make reference to gender in songs, although a track on the Morrissey album, Ringleader of the Tormentors, was conjectured to referred to a male lover.

But Peter Robinson, editor of the website Popjustice, says pop stars still feel pressure to hide their sexuality.

"As soon as you're out you become a 'gay' act," he said. "And in almost every situation I can think of, that has ended up creating a barrier between the act and simply being considered a musician."

Robinson also points to two recent examples of pop stars – the late Stephen Gately and McElderry – who came out only when they felt their hand was forced by the media.

Gambaccini said: "I know many gay musicians who say they still don't want to come out. More than anything, the don't want their fans to feel they've been lied to."

For musicians outside the mainstream, such as Ed Droste of Grizzly Bear or Antony Hegarty (of Antony and the Johnsons), the issue is less problematic.

Robinson said the likes of Lady Gaga showing support was positive "but it's usually only once they've established that their fanbase is liberal anyway".

Gambaccini is equally cynical about the motivations of artists such as Perry and Ke$ha, describing the way certain female stars play with homosexuality as "dipping their toe in the water without getting their foot wet".

Gambaccini feels that Martin has done well in deflecting direct questions about his sexuality by being vociferous about his role as a parent.

"He has positioned himself as a doting father and that in itself is a focus changer, because he's not saying 'I'm in love and live with a male partner, with whom I have two children' – he's saying 'I have two children who I love and am crazy about' ".

Martin's commercial peak was over a decade ago, and like George Michael, his success is well established enough for him to take risks.

But it is still a risk. Like Martin, Elton John also came out later in life and recently became a father to baby Zachary.

As the publicity trail for Martin's album, Musica + Alma + Sexo, hit high gear last week, an American supermarket censored an image of Elton and his partner David Furnish holding their new baby on the front US Weekly magazine.

There are some parts of the world, it seems, where hostilities remain, no matter how many records a person has sold.

But those hoping that Martin's new album will offer a deep reflection of gay life may be disappointed. Reviews suggest it is classic Martin: lighthearted, cheesy pop.